SACNAS Stands with International Students Amidst ICE Decision

SANTA CRUZ, CA — Dr. Sonia I. Zárate, President of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) issued the following statement in response to the recent changes to the U.S. Student and Exchange Visitor program:

“SACNAS, as the largest national diversity in STEM organization, acknowledges that international students and scholars are essential members of the U.S. academic and scientific communities. The recent proposed modifications by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program guidelines are harmful to international students. These students provide invaluable contributions to the higher education institutions where they study and conduct research, to the faculty they work with, and to the thought leadership of STEM in the U.S. We urge the administration to immediately rescind this revision of the guidelines and support educational institutions as they implement flexible models of instruction to protect the health and safety of students, faculty, staff, and communities during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The DHS plans to publish these changed guidelines as a Temporary Final Rule in the Federal Register which will be become enforceable upon publication.  Since the administration will forego the public comment process normally required for such changes, we encourage you to comment on the changes if and when they get posted to the register.  ”